1. Kansas State overwhelms Texas in second half

After an impressive first half filled with big plays from freshman guard Courtney Ramey and senior guard Kerwin Roach II, the Longhorns took a 39-35 lead at the break.

Roach dropped 14 points in the first half, Ramey put up 10 and Texas shot 56 percent from the floor, thanks in large part to getting into the paint. The Longhorns scored 24 points inside during the opening 20 minutes.

But Kansas State mostly controlled the second half, hitting timely shots and limiting the Longhorns' offense with stretches of zone defense. The Longhorns were forced into more outside shots, as opposed to the first half, and they were unable to convert.

The Wildcats took a 67-60 lead with 4:40 to play after a 3-pointer from guard Kamau Stokes. But sophomore guard Jase Febres answered on the other end with a 3-pointer to trim the deficit to four. From there, though, the Longhorns struggled to buy a bucket in the final minutes, and they were unable to make enough plays to take the lead or cut the deficit to less than three. Texas didn't score over the final 2:17.

Kansas State out-shot Texas from the floor in the second half, 57 percent to 30. The Wildcats also shot 40 percent from 3-point range in the second half, while the Longhorns only managed 18 percent.

2. Texas guards go quiet after hot first half

For a while Tuesday night, it looked like it was going to be another one of those big nights for Kerwin Roach and Courtney Ramey.

But after combining for 24 first-half points, they only managed three in the second thanks to a trio of free throws from Roach. Meanwhile, sophomore point guard Matt Coleman III, who had six points in the first half, only scored three in the second.

Ramey got himself into foul trouble, and Texas coach Shaka Smart opted to go to Jase Febres, who's made big shots late in games this season, for much of the second half. But Febres was unable to get going. Roach, who was impressive attacking the basket in the first half, could never get anything going, either, down the stretch.

Texas had to rely on its big men for scoring instead. Senior forward Dylan Osetkowski contributed eight of his nine points in the final 20 minutes, while freshman forward Jaxson Hayes posted seven of his nine.

3. Longhorns can't claim another quality win

Texas entered Tuesday night's clash with the Big 12-leading Wildcats as three-point favorites after having won three of its last four games. The Longhorns also came into the game with a little bit of renewed momentum.

Put simply, this was a prime opportunity for the Longhorns to prove they had fully moved past early-season woes and were tired of living on the NCAA tournament bubble. Texas could have collected its seventh quality win of the season.

But Texas' second-half struggles and an inability to hit shots doomed any chance of a three-game winning streak. With six games now left in Big 12 play, the Longhorns still have a shot at the tournament, but they're going to have to finish strong.

ESPN's Joe Lunardi had the Longhorns projected as a nine-seed prior to Tuesday's game, while CBS' Jerry Palm had them as an 11-seed.

UP NEXT

The Longhorns (14-11, 6-6 Big 12) host Oklahoma State (9-14, 2-8 Big 12) on Saturday afternoon at the Erwin Center. Tipoff is set for 12 p.m. on CBS. The Cowboys won this season's first meeting, 61-58, in Stillwater on Jan. 8.